Day Trip - The Breaks

 J, E and I had a great day trip to the Breaks Interstate Park yesterday.  It is " A 5-mile gorge, plunging to 1650 feet, in this “Grand Canyon of the South.”

 We stopped at the visitor center first.  They had a documentary type film, some artifacts and lots of taxidermy.  Then, with map in hand, we took off to check out the hiking and overlooks. 

 The hiking was pretty easy.  They also had a self guided nature trail which was very interesting. 

 E brought along her camera, binoculars and notebook to jot down any birds she saw. 

She found several of these cute little guys.  

It is an eft, the juvenile stage of a newt.

 It had just rained so the sky was gray, there was a little fog and the humidity was stifling.

But the views were still stunning. 

I enjoyed reading the informational signs. 

 I think this is probably the most iconic overlook with the horseshoe river bend and tower rock formation.

 I liked J's pose next to the carved graffiti. 

I'm not sure I would compare it to the Grand Canyon, but it was spectacular in its own right.  It is hard to imagine what Daniel Boone must have seen when he was searching for a way through the mountains and came across the Breaks.  There was a vast virgin Poplar tree forest that was logged out in the early 1900's.  The trees were 200 feet high and up to 7 - 8 feet in diameter.   The Yellow Poplar Lumber Company built a splash dam and dynamited boulders out of the way in order to use the river to move the trees out.  The walnut trees had already been selectively harvested in the 1800's for the Singer Company. 

Anyway, there is lots more to do and see there. I highly recommend visiting.